BENICIA > > The city council approved the renewal of the Business Improvement District downtown, or “B.I.D.,” at Tuesday’s meeting. Hanging in the balance, literally, were the hundreds of twinkly white fairy lights that bedeck the trees along First Street.

“We don’t have to look at trees without lights,” said an exultant Mario Giuliani, economic development manager. “Instead the lights have been saved.”

The lights are an addition voted on by a majority of business owners up and down the street and on nearby streets in 2012 when the B.I.D. was first introduced.

This latest renewal also depended on a majority of participants agreeing to pay the yearly fee to cover the costs of the lights — $192 for most, though upstairs businesses pay less, Giuliani said.

The B.I.D. is what is known as a “special benefits assessment district,” wherein business owners powwow in an effort to support one another and boost commerce.

But not everyone along First Street was happy to be included in the B.I.D.

A few merchants spoke to the council and expressed concern about how poorly the lights in the trees were maintained and how the fee wasn’t easy to pay for smaller businesses. One woman wondered why larger volume venues along First were required the pay the same fee as smaller stores.

Both councilmembers Steve Young and Mark Hughes expressed worry that the B.I.D. fees were causing division among the downtown community. Young mentioned that in other jurisdictions, the property owners pay the fees, not the business owners, and that could be something to explore.

Giuliani addressed the maintenance issues with the lights, which would often go out and not be replaced. He said a new company has been hired that will be able to oversee the lights on a consistent basis. They will be taken down this month and the branches of the trees will be pruned, he said, then a new swath of lights will go up.

Lionel Largaespada of the Economic Development Board said that the lights have been a welcome addition downtown and that sales tax revenue has increased by 23 percent since they’ve gone in.

“The B.I.D. has benefited the businesses inside and outside the district by making our ‘main street’ safer and more inviting to residents and quests alike,” he said. “The unanimous vote by the city council is a resounding show of confidence in the program, and a great example of how local government and businesses work together.”